What You Need To Know About Wet Reckless Charges In Marin County, CA

What Is The Punishment For Wet Reckless In Marin County?

A Wet Reckless in Marin County is usually punished less severely than a regular DUI. Because of this, many people will use this less severe sentence as a disposition on their case instead of going to a jury trial.

The big difference between a DUI and a Wet Reckless is the length of probation. A regular DUI has a three-year probation term, whereas a Wet Reckless is only a one-year probation sentence. Your probation is over in that timeframe, assuming you’ve “successfully completed” your probation.

“Successfully completing” probation includes:

• All your fines are paid in full;
• You have not got any new offenses;
• You have not violated your probation in any way; and
• You’ve completed any classes, such as DUI school.

Once the conditions of your probation have been successfully completed and the length of time on probation has passed, you can get the charge expunged by asking your attorney to file a motion with a court to have your record show that the case was dismissed.

What Are Some Of The Other Penalties Involved With A DUI In Marin County, CA?

A judge can assign many penalties for a conviction of DUI in Marin County. Some of the most common penalties include:

• 12-hour DUI class OR 3-month DUI class;
• Suspended license;
• Ignition interlock device; and
• Fines and court costs.

What Are The Benefits Of A Wet Reckless Charge Versus A DUI Charge In Marin County, CA?

If you are unable to win the DMV hearing and you have negotiated your charge down to a Wet Reckless, you will have to take a three-month DUI class to be eligible for a restricted license. Without a restricted license, you will face a license suspension period of, at minimum, four months for a Wet Reckless charge.

However, if you win the DMV hearing and can negotiate your DUI charge down to a Wet Reckless – that’s fantastic. In this case, you will only have to complete a 12-hour DUI class to get a restricted license and you will not have to suffer the minimum four-month license suspension. What’s more, the 12-hour class is significantly less expensive than the three-month program which costs around $700.

Yet another benefit of winning your DMV hearing on a Wet Reckless charge is avoiding the suspended license or having to get approved for a restricted one. If your charge is reduced to a Wet Reckless in court, but you don’t win your DMV hearing, you’ll have to go one month with no driving followed by six months of work-restricted driving. Work-restricted driving is just that – driving only to and from work and work-related driving.

Alternatively, if you lose your DMV hearing you can choose to go right into an ignition interlock device (IID) program, which you must have for four months. As an experienced DUI lawyer, I try to help my clients get into an IID program in these cases.

This is because with an IID you don’t have to wait the mandatory one-month period of no driving before you can get a restricted license. What’s more, an ignition interlock-restricted license allows you to drive anywhere, anytime. There are no restrictions on an IID license other than that you can only drive a vehicle with a functioning ignition interlock device.

How Can Hiring An Experienced DUI Lawyer Help You Navigate Your Sentence?

The truth is, an attorney who practices criminal defense with a general focus in criminal law doesn’t always know how to navigate the minor details of a DUI case. Hiring an experienced DUI lawyer is always necessary if you want your case to have a better outcome.

One of the greatest benefits of working with a seasoned DUI-focused attorney in Marin County is that they know the ins and outs of every one of these processes. As such, your lawyer can walk you through the specifics of your case and help you time things so that you’re not left without a license and unable to drive a car for days, weeks, or even months.

As a reputable DUI lawyer in Marin County, I often get calls from people who have had a public defender or an attorney from another county who isn’t very experienced in DUI cases represent them in court. Unfortunately, these lawyers can’t effectively walk you through each step to getting a work-restricted or ignition interlock license. Even more than that, lawyers inexperienced in Marin County DUI cases don’t have the same in-depth knowledge needed to walk you through every other aspect of your case.

Seasoned DUI lawyers can do more than help you fight your charges and avoid the worst aspects of a conviction. They can also point you in the right direction to companies with excellent reputations and customer service for what you’ll need to get your license legal.

We’ll tell you about the best insurance companies to use. We’ll tell you which businesses that aren’t going to mess up when installing your IID. (Many times, these aren’t actual local IID companies, which causes a lot of problems for people.) All in all, we make it our entire career to focus on making this procedure as smooth as possible from beginning to end.

Do I Still Have To Do A DUI Class For A Wet Reckless In Marin County?

If you’re convicted of Wet Reckless, the least you’ll have to do is a 12-hour DUI class, which takes about six weeks. The good news here is that you can now do DUI classes and the intake online.

You Have Options When Choosing Your DUI Class

As a straightforward DUI lawyer, I’m not recommending DUI classes through the Marin DUI school. They had a lot of issues during COVID where they dropped the ball and abandoned all their clients and all the attorneys. I understand they are up and running again, but during that time they showed their commitment to helping people was less than zero. The courts were furious with them, too, and we DUI lawyers stopped having our clients go there.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go to a Marin County driving school if you get a Wet Reckless, DUI, or any other charge in Marin County – you can go to another county or complete a course online.

The department that regulates DUI schools has said that online Zoom-type classes will continue indefinitely for DUI schools post-COVID lockdowns, which is a good thing for so many people. However, you have to be aware that some online schools take four or five weeks to get an intake appointment. So if you must enroll in DUI school right away, make sure to get in touch with our office. We know of a couple schools that are very good at signing people up quickly.

As your lawyer, we want to walk you through what needs to happen, when it needs to happen, and we want to be there to answer all your questions. We mean it, too – that’s why we offer free consultations for anyone who wants to know more about their situation with the court, the DMV, or anything else related to their case.

Will I Have To Serve Probation For A Wet Reckless Conviction In Marin County?

If you have a Wet Reckless conviction in Marin County, you will have to serve probation. The good news is that while a regular DUI requires a three-year probation term, (which is usually unsupervised), a Wet Reckless only requires one year of unsupervised court probation.

This is especially great because if you successfully complete the terms of your probation, you can apply for an expungement as soon as that year is over. We file expungements for clients all the time, and we would be happy to help you with yours, as well.

For more information on Wet Reckless Charges In Marin County, CA, a free initial consultation is your next step. Get the information and legal answers you seek today by calling (415) 886-6333.